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BrotherHL-L5210DN

Standard laser
Mono

£160.90View retailers

Test score

Lowest available prices

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The Brother HL-L5210DN is a standard laser printer that doesn’t scan or copy, and prints in black and white only. The best mono laser printers combine high quality with low printing costs. But does the Brother HL-L5210DN fall into this category, or would you be better off looking elsewhere? We put this mono laser printer through our rigorous test programme to find out. Read the full review for our verdict.

pros

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cons

What's included?

What is it?
How much does it cost to print?
How well does it print?
How secure is it?
Is there anything I should watch out for?
Is there anything I should know?
Should I buy it?

KEY TEST RESULTS
Print quality and speed
Printing costs

May 2025Last checked by Which?
Oct 2024First reviewed by Which?
Oct 2023Released

The overall Which? test score is made up of the following star ratings, all determined by our rigorous lab tests.

How we test printers

7 May 2025

Print quality and speed

Overall
Black text quality
Black text speed
Office graphics quality
Images with text quality

How we test print quality and speed

Quality and speed for different types of documents.

Ease of use

Overall
Ease of setting up
Ease of printing
Low noise

How we test ease of use

Ease of use, including printing, copying and scanning where relevant.

Printing costs

How we test printing costs

How cheap or expensive the printer is for ink/toner costs per page. More stars means cheaper prints. Costs are based on our occasional printing test - printing black text and colour pages, leaving time between prints and turning the printer off between uses. Printers with no star rating were tested prior to our occasional printing test.

Durability

Overall
Maintenance
Light resistance

How we test durability

Our research shows a typical printer lasts for 13 years, and printouts may last far longer. Durability and maintenance are the assessment by our technicians of the build quality of the printer and how easy it appears to maintain. For our light resistance rating, we print colour test sheets on 80gsm glossy Xerox photo paper using the printer brand's original ink/toner and place the test print in a calibrated light box, which simulates approximately one year in direct sunlight. More stars means less fading. You should expect different results for third-party ink/toner. If you choose a location less in direct sunlight it will greatly reduce the risk of fading.

Power use

How we test power use

For energy, it's based on power use when the printer is turned off, in standby and when idle, just after printing.

Accessories
Supported refill types	TN-3600 BK
Can print if black is out	No

General
Type of printer	Standard laser
Colour or Mono	Mono
Refill type	Toner cartridge
Height	29cm
Width	36cm
Depth	46cm
Prints on A3	No
Individual Colour Cartridges	No
Claimed maximum page weight	163
Continuous printing cost
Occasional printing - text and graphics
One year printing cost
Three year printing cost
Ten black text prints
Page of office graphics
Testing information	This model was tested using the current version of our printers test programme (from October 2024).

Features
Automatic Document Feeder	No
Auto duplexing	Yes
Print via wi-fi direct	No

Connections
Ethernet	Yes
Wi-fi	No
Print from smartphone	Yes
AirPrint compatible	Yes
Windows 10 compatible	Yes
Windows 11 compatible	Yes
Mac OS full compatiblity	No

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BrotherHL-L5210DN

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